Golf Digest Ranks 4 Hammock Coast Golf Trail Courses Among South Carolina’s Best Public Layouts for 2022

As part of a relaunch of its “Best Places to Play” initiative, Golf Digest has unveiled its list of South Carolina’s best public courses, and the Hammock Coast Golf Trail plays prominently in the venerable magazine’s ranking of the Palmetto State’s best.

The list, which included South Carolina’s top 20 public layouts, was compiled based on the evaluation of Golf Digest’s nationwide panel of course raters.

Four Hammock Coast Golf Trail designs were ranked among the golf-rich Palmetto State’s best, a group that includes Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, True Blue Golf Club, TPC Myrtle Beach, and Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club.

Caledonia, a consensus top 100 public course, was architect Mike Strantz’ first solo design. Set on a beautiful piece of Lowcountry property, Caledonia is equal parts art and architecture, wowing players with its creativity and challenge. The course’s iconic 18th hole, which requires a carry over water to a green resting in the shadow of the clubhouse, is a perfect finish.

True Blue, Caledonia’s sister course and another Strantz design, features some of the area’s largest fairways, greens and waste bunkers. The expansive layout is full of unforgettable visuals and quality shot making is at a premium.

TPC Myrtle Beach is one of the area’s premier big-event venues. The Tom Fazio-Lanny Wadkins course has hosted a Senior Tour Championship and a NCAA Division I regional championship, among other high-profile events.

A Jack Nicklaus design, the back nine at Pawleys Plantation features six holes that play along a tidal marsh, a stretch highlighted by the 13th hole, a short par 3 that plays to a peninsula green surrounded by marsh. Pawleys Plantation, one of the area’s sternest tests, is an unforgettable course.